2024 Heytesbury Chardonnay

"An extraordinary wine of tension, energy and power... It’s the result of the earliest vintage on record at Vasse Felix... a wine of power and generosity, yet the subtle secondary characters in here really do strike a complex note... The palate is almost lavish, yet it's held tightly with that fine linear precision and crisp acidity... It's another outstanding wine. Dare I say it, but this could be the finest HEYTESBURY yet."

"...In the glass, the vintage delivers one hell of a Chardonnay: rich, complex and yet finely balanced. It could balance on a pin such is the wine’s near perfect composition and keenly detailed acidity... It’s early days but the excitement factor is already high... The stage is set for one exciting HEYTESBURY Chardonnay production."

"... Lovely pure grapefruit nectarine tonic water aromas with hints of marzipan. Supple and minerally with ample grapefruit, lemon curd, nectarine flavours, fine looseknit chalky textures, attractive mid palate richness, a touch of vanilla/marzipan and underlying saline/crunchy acidity. Super long and tangy at the finish, giving the wine freshness and mineral length. Will develop further with bottle age. A reference Margaret River Chardonnay..."

"The balance of fruit and tension is fantastic... The palate is mid-weighted with a tightly woven texture, fine-boned acidity and a lovely phenolic grip intertwining oak and fruit. It’s generous, yet retains all the tension and salinity typical of Margaret River. Don’t be misled by the fruit concentration. There’s still freshness and minerality throughout. Excellent."

"... The palate is textural and shapely (something of a house style at Vasse Felix), and the length through the finish is long... What a superstar wine... This wine is brilliant every single vintage. The wines are reflective of the year and the sites, but more than that, they speak of the purity, drive and power inherent in Margaret River Chardonnay. They are an asset to Australian wine."

"The winemaking is good. The wine growing is good. And the sites are outstanding... This is, without doubt, an outstanding release of HEYTESBURY Chardonnay. The intensity of fruit flavour is as exquisite as it is impressive; the texture itself has a presence to it; the flintiness sits within the fruit as much as it rises above it... Quality-wise, all over, it’s the bomb. The drama of the finish – and its persistence – is the ultimate confirmation.”

"This has one of those beautiful "ohhh" openings... There's gorgeous flow and energy as it glides through the mouth inside a frame of saline acidity and chalky phenolic grip, with length for days thanks to waves of rolling acidity. Outstanding - Virginia Willcock and the team have done it again."